Thursday, October 20, 2011

2011 Road Trip - Railroad Depots (#3) NY

Our search continues for old, abandoned and active railroad depots.  Of course, as I laid out the route for our late summer road trip, I also went on line and did a bit of research, locating probable depots along our route.  One benefit of this planning activity is that in the effort to locate the railroad depots, we end up exploring a lot of small towns as well.   


This is the former Urbana Township Railroad Depot which is located in the Village of Hammondsport New York.  The Village purchased it from the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad in 1995.  In 2004, it was dedicated as the new Village Office building.  Hammondsport is located at the south end of Keuka Lake, one of New York’s famous Finger Lakes.


This is another view of the former Urbana/Hammondsport Depot.  The original railroad into Hammondsport was the 9 miles long Bath and Hammondsport Railroad that began operations in 1875.  The Erie Railroad took over the line in 1908 and ran this line until 1936.  The line then was taken private one more time, with Hammondsport operations ceasing in the mid-1990’s.


This postcard shows the Hammondsport Depot at its operating peak.  On Sundays from 1889 to 1907, as many as 7 passenger trains per day brought families to the village to spend time cruising the lake on the many steamboats that used to operate on Keuka Lake.

Hammondsport demonstrated the positive reutilization of an old railroad depot…

Then we came across this old depot, located in Burdett New York.  It sits on private property at a lumberyard/saw mill operation.  It still has a decent roof and it isn’t exactly falling apart…but if it’s being used, it’s just for storage.


Here’s a photo of the same depot, with its original roof line, back in 1910.  Based on this picture, it’s apparent that this former Leigh Valley Railroad Depot is over 100 years old!  One can only hope that the village or some other benefactor will come forward and restore this old passenger depot.

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…
Thanks for stopping by for a visit!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave 

3 comments:

  1. You've rejuvinated my long held desire to tour the finger lakes area.

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  2. I get sentimental about these icons of our history. the architecture of the original structions have so much style and elegance!

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